‘Special Order’ Auction at Sotheby’s
November 18th, 2009 § Leave a Comment
On 17 November 2009, Louis Vuitton organised an event co-hosted by Sotheby’s at its London New Bond Street premises. The aim was to auction off six limited-edition ‘Special Order’ Vuitton pieces to benefit the Red Cross and to commemorate the organisation’s 150th anniversary.
Six international masters of their trade were given the opportunity to work in collaboration with Vuitton to design a unique piece embodying their exceptional expertise in their respective professions.
The custom pieces created were a butterfly armoire by Damien Hirst, a trolley case with knife tray by chef Ferran Adrià, camera bags by photographer Annie Leibovitz, an instrument case by musician and composer Gustavo Santaolalla, a dog carrier by Vuitton creative director Marc Jacobs and an alligator tool kit by Patrick Louis Vuitton, the head of Vuitton’s Special Orders department and a member of the fifth generation of the Vuitton family.
The evening went down a storm with guests including Brian Ferry, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Woody Allen and his wife Soon-Yi raising a total of £495,000 for the Nigerien Red Cross Fighting Malnutrition Programme. Damien Hirst’s suitcase alone went for £360,000.
If you were not able to make the auction, you can still do your bit for charity, head to the website (www.louisvuitton.com) and order any of four classic Louis Vuitton handbags – the Speedy, the Keepall, the Noe, and the Alma – and 10% of your purchase will be donated to the American Red Cross.
